If You Asked Me To
by jd4941
Summary: AU. Lena and Stef meet as teens.
1. Chapter 1

**** A/N: I do not own the Fosters nor any of the characters.**

Stef found the perfect seat and nabbed it fast. From this vantage point, she could watch the clock and make sure that she wasn't spending one more second in this place than she had to.

She had fallen behind in school recently. As an extrovert, she was involved in a lot of different school sports and clubs. There was cheerleading, band, basketball, and lacrosse. The school had a policy of no sports without at least a C average and Stef was already on probation. One more poor grade and it was no more sports for her.

So, her school counselor called her Mom. Of course, her Mother totally overreacted. It was either join the mentoring program and get her grades up or else no more social life of any kind for her.

Stef still surmised her falling grades weren't her fault. Her parents had recently divorced and they were both having a hard time adjusting. Or rather, she and her Father were. Her Mother had seemed to embrace the single life with a gusto Stef had never even known she was capable of.

Her Father, on the other hand, just kind of retreated into himself. He had never been much of a talker or an outgoing man before but the divorce had left him sad and lonely. Stef hated seeing him that way. So, she took on the burden of trying to care for him.

Technically, her mother had custody. But, at 17, they left the choice of coming and going up to her. So, she divided her time between the home she grew up in and the beach house her Mom was now calling their home.

The clock showed that it was 3:05. Hah! She would give it 10 more minutes and then she was out of there. It wasn't her fault if the mentor was late. She figured her Mother couldn't blame her for someone else's negligence.

"Stefanie Foster?" she heard from behind her.

Stef turned and had to do a double take. She was looking up into the face of one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen. She had a lovely coif of dark unruly hair. She was tall and rail thin. But, that wasn't the only reason Stef was staring. She was also young. Or so she seemed.

"That's me," Stef stammered. "You're not the mentor are you?"

The girl smiled and held out her hand. "That'd be me. My name is Lena Adams. Nice to meet you."

Stef shook her hand uncertainly, "Nice to meet you too. How old are you?"

The girl just laughed. "Why madame, you're never supposed to ask a lady her age," she said giggling. Finally, at Stef's puzzled look she added, "I'm 14. But, I'm on a fast track to graduate this year." She pulled out the chair across from Stef's. "So, you're having trouble with your studies?"

Stef had to shake herself. She had no idea why but she got the feeling this girl was trouble. "Yeah. I'm falling behind in a few of my subjects."

Lena nodded, "Which ones?"

Stef grimaced, "All of them?!"

Lena reached out her hand and clasped Stef's. "It's okay. It's what I'm here for. Now, let me see your schedule and we'll figure out where to start."

Stef pulled her hand back and was surprised to find it shaking slightly. She was also a little breathless. _Get it together Foster_, she told herself. Her fingers stumbled over finding her class schedule_.__Yep, she was sure of it. This girl was going to be trouble with a capital T._


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Lena reached for the schedule and their hands touched briefly. Stef quickly pulled hers away. She had felt a little spark and was becoming increasingly uneasy. She needed this session over as fast as possible.

Lena read it over quickly and nodded. Then, she looked into Stef's eyes with a tender smile. "So, I think first we need to set some goals. Then, we can move onto organizing and execution." When Stef said nothing she continued, "So, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"What?" Stef asked startled. She just thought they were going to do tutoring and stuff. She wasn't prepared for personal ruminations.

"Like, are you looking for a certain academic standing to go to a certain college? Or do you have to take certain classes for the college you're thinking about? Or, I guess I should say ones you've applied to. Which ones have you applied to?"

Stef was a little embarrassed. "I'm not… I mean, we don't, I was just going to join the police academy. My Father is a cop so, it's kinda family business."

"Okay. So, you still have to study some of the sciences to become a detective. And math comes in handy all the time. I see you've got all the right classes to be on the college track. I've already taken all of these classes."

"But, you're 14!" Stef said a little embarrassed that she barely thought about what she was going to do tomorrow let alone for the rest of her life. Here this young girl was talking about years into the future. And who graduates at 14 anyway? Is she some Doogie Houser or something?

Lena just giggled. Stef loved the sound. She wanted to make her laugh all the time. Wait! She shook her head. No, what was she thinking? This was just some girl helping her with homework.

"So -," Lena started then paused. She filled her cheeks with air and then blew it upward. She pulled her lips tight and tapped her hands on the table. "So, we're going to start with this. After school we'll set aside time to do your homework together. In no time, I promise you, we'll get those grades up. And maybe even get some of those college applications in the mail." Lena leaned toward Stef as she spoke. She winked at her and smiled.

Stef again sat dumbfounded. She knew she shouldn't. This feeling she had in her was making her uneasy. She couldn't even identify the feeling completely. But, she liked it. She also liked the idea of spending more time with this girl.

She found herself nodding her agreement despite warning signals going off in her mind.

They two girls compared schedules and hatched a plan. They agreed to meet up at the same place in the library tomorrow.

Stef got into her jalopy and took off for her Dad's house. She wanted to make sure he had a hot meal waiting for him. But, in her mind, she couldn't escape those wide brown eyes and that beautiful smile.


End file.
